The compulsory psychiatric treatment of Victorians with mental illness often ignores their ability to make their own decisions, advocates claim.

ReGenUC's insight:

Study highlights the lack of consumer involvement in decision making about their own treatment. It's worth noting that the Mental Health Tribunal disputes the findings. It's also worth remembering that there are increasing calls for the expansion of compulsory AOD treatment in several jurisdictions around Australia.

Dr Bowen from the University of Sydney is looking forward to the day their discovery is used to save lives.

ReGenUC's insight:

Citing the work of Sydney Uni's Brain and Mind Centre, targetting oxytoxcin to reduce motivation to use AOD. While the work looks promising, it's important to be worthy of 'cure' claims, that are frequently made, but rarely as effective as headlines suggest.

If you're caught with less than 50 grams of cannabis in Canberra, it's unlikely you'll end up with a criminal record — but just across the boarder in New South Wales you could face a conviction or even jail time.

ReGenUC's insight:

Highlighting the inconsistencies in Australian drug laws and the need for change to current systems for access to medicinal cannabis.

When a Queensland father asked a doctor if he could keep giving his daughter cannabis in hospital, the consultant replied it's fine as long as you get the dosing right, a recording obtained by the ABC shows.

ReGenUC's insight:

Another indicator of the ineffectiveness of current regulatory systems in providing a suitable framework for managing access to medicinal cannabis. The sooner the Federal and State/Territory Govts can establish a workable system, the better.

A man has been executed, and another faces imminent execution, for drug offences in Singapore - days after President Trump endorsed the country’s execution of people for drug trafficking.

ReGenUC's insight:

More evidence of the role leaders like Presidents Trump and Duterte play in reinforcing global 'hard line' drug policies. See last week's report on the use of the death penalty as a punishment for drug offences (http://sco.lt/5c0HxZ) and one article highlighting the ineffectiveness of such approaches to preventing use and reducing drug related harm: http://sco.lt/90J0Xh.

On March 10th, the Herald Sun ran a court story by Padraic Murphy about the sentencing of 22-year-old Felicity Chafer-Smith, who – along with her 38-year-old boyfriend Clinton Phillips – embarked on three robberies over two days in Melbourne. The headline of the newspaper version reads: “Junkie goes to jail”. The online version reads: “Burqa-clad…

ReGenUC's insight:

Jenny Valentish responds for AOD Media Watch to some terrible court reporting in last Saturday's Herald Sun. If you don't have access behind the News Ltd paywall, you can see the original article here: http://sco.lt/5mvl8j.

Everything we know so far about N-ethylpentylone, the "cracky" drug that's started doing the rounds at New Zealand festivals.

ReGenUC's insight:

Highlighting the importance of providing timely information about emerging risks: Police issue a formal warning about N-Ethylpentylone being sold as ecstasy after 13 people were hospitalised in Christchurch.

The Alexander Maconochie Centre: 30 per cent of prisoners are on the methadone program. Photo: File photo. A culture of drug-seeking persists among prisoners

ReGenUC's insight:

The headline is a bet overegged, but the article provides some useful detail on ACT Health Services Commissioner Karen Toohey's recommendations following her review of the prison's pharmacotherapy program.

Three public officers, including police, paramedics and prison guards, were assaulted each day last year, according to figures attributed to WA’s meth crisis.

ReGenUC's insight:

In spite of the headline, the WA Police Minister's actual reported words were: 'I suspect a proportion of the increase could be connected with the meth problem'. There's no actual evidence cited in the article (other than the overall numbers of assaults), but plenty of assumptions. There's also the usual call for mandatory sentencing, which former Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan noted is expensive and ineffective.

Maria receives around $350 a week from the Government, and says it’s “too easy” to bu

ReGenUC's insight:

Concentrated disadvantage and intergenerational AOD use get the usual exploitative A Current Affair treatment. At least it's good to see Odyssey's Stefan Gruenert included in the story and recognition of the shortage of treatment services in regional areas.

The southern Alberta city of Lethbridge is home to the first government-approved safe drug inhalation site in Canada. The specialized rooms have exhaust systems that can completely recirculate air in 10 seconds so staff can safely intervene in case of a medical emergency.

ReGenUC's insight:

Unfortunately, this point of desperation is often the only point at which public officials will consider implementing evidence based harm reduction measures, such as supvervised injecting or inhalation facilities. It's a reminder of how far we still have to go before we can have a rational public drug policy debate: only when all other options have been exhausted.

Researchers found that after states passed naloxone access laws, opioid-related emergency room visits and opioid-related theft both rose, and no decrease was observed in opioid-related mortality.

ReGenUC's insight:

It's important to note that this paper is yet to be subjected to peer review. Given the nature of the findings (and their potential to be used by those advocating for variations of a 'just let them die' policy), we would expect that, when it does happen, the level of scrutiny will be high. See last week's related discussion: http://sco.lt/66NYbB.

Health and consumer groups in England and the EU have been re-iterating calls for mandatory alcohol labelling of health relevant information including calories, criticising the latest proposal from alcohol industry bodies for self-regulation. SpiritsEUROPE has set out a commo

ReGenUC's insight:

Alcohol Policy UK considers the current state of play, with the alcohol industry pushing for self-regulation.

The construction trailer that houses the illegal, volunteer-run overdose prevention site in Toronto's Moss Park is about to open for another evening, as a dozen drug users, some clearly anxious for their fix, cluster around its muddy entrance in the cold.

Despite talk of a smoke-free world, Big Tobacco is up to its same old tricks.

ReGenUC's insight:

Andrew Rowell raises questions about PMI's 'Foundation for a Smoke-Free World' and broader issues with Big Tobacco's efforts to control a 'smoke-free future'. See today's related post on a US study challenging PMI's claims about the health benefits of 'heat not burn' products: http://sco.lt/6WiJgP.

As of today, March 14th, Tobacco companies will no longer be able to sell cigarettes in branded packaging. All cigarette released for sale from today must be sold in plain, olive brown generic packaging.

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that the Philippines was withdrawing from the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

ReGenUC's insight:

More evidence that President Duterte is starting to recognise that it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid accountability for the thousands of extrajudicial executions that have been carried out under his brutal drug policies. See yesterday's related coverage where he threatened to feed UN human rights investigators 'to the crocodiles': http://sco.lt/6yCi0X.

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